He removed more books and examined them before shoving them back into place. She almost asked him to be more careful but worried it would only invite destruction.
When he finally finished examining the precious tomes, he turned his attention to the fireplace. The burning in her lungs alerted her that she’d stopped breathing. She inhaled as he examined the gray stones before bending to look into the hearth.
Rising, he slapped his hand on the mantle and walked back to her. His arm brushed hers as he swept past her, and Lexi turned back to the hall. Brokk remained in the doorway, but the scowl on his face deepened.
Sahira had taken a couple of steps toward the kitchen as drawers opened and shut in there. The bottles holding her potions rattled as large hands handled them, but nothing broke. Lexi suspected they were probably scared to break any of those bottles.
The head lycan reemerged from the direction of the kitchen and strode down the hall toward them. “We’ll search the barn next.”
“Of course,” Lexi murmured, but her heart raced.
They hadn’t found the passageway in the fireplace, but would they find the one in the barn? And if they spread out around the property, would they find the one in the shed?
Brokk stepped out of their way as the rest of the lycans filed out of her home. They descended the stairs and stalked toward the stable.
Cole dodged another lava bomb and, throwing himself to the ground, rolled away from the fire that erupted when it hit the ground. Flames ate at his skin as he moved, but he had to keep going.
Launching himself to his feet, he dashed away when the cherufe lunged at him again. Its hands clacked together when it missed him. Spinning, Cole kicked out and caught the back of its rocky knee.
The thing didn’t react to the blow, but fiery pain lanced up his leg as the bones in his foot fractured and the cherufe’s fire burned him.
Shit!
He danced back again, but his broken foot slowed him. With no other options, he ignored the discomfort as he kept moving.
He darted, danced, and spun away as he steadily led the creature down the side of the mountain, through the flames, and toward the water. His flesh slid to the side as it started to slough off him and blisters covered what remained of his skin. Not even the sand was as agonizing as this, but he didn’t stop.
Bombs erupted into the sky and whistled as they soared through the air. As they crashed around him, they churned up chunks of earth and splattered him with their fiery remnants.
The bits and pieces adhering to him sizzled as they burrowed through his muscle and embedded in his bones. The sweat pouring down his body and dripping off his chin sizzled when it hit the ground.
With an image of Lexi rooted firmly in his mind, he drew the creature onward. The ground quaked beneath its feet as it chased him, and when it charged again, Cole barely avoided being embraced in a fiery hug.
Finally, the flames gave way, and he spotted the pristine water of the lake once more. Even knowing what they did, Cole found it almost impossible to resist plunging into those cool waters and finding some relief for his crisp-fried body.
When the cherufe ran at him again, he stepped to the side. The creature didn’t run into the water, but it got close enough that Cole, drawing on what little remained of his power, lifted a ball of water from the surface and flung it at the fiery beast.
The cherufe sizzled and popped as the water doused its flames. Before it could recover, Cole raced at the creature.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Lexi didn’t know if she should follow the lycans out the door or remain inside. What would a completely innocent person do in this situation?
She got her answer when Brokk followed them out the door. Sahira went after him, and Lexi trailed them. She wanted to shove past them and bolt out to the barn to see what the lycans were doing, but she kept herself restrained enough to stroll behind the others.
Or at least she hoped she was strolling; that was the look she was going for anyway. She suspected she looked like a marionette and her puppet master was drunk.
She’d grown up here and was a simple person; she was not an immortal built for a life of crime and fighting.
But that’s exactly what she was now, and she was going to have to figure out how to be a good criminal.
Lifting her chin, she resolved not to focus on her walk and to act completely normal. This was all in her head; she was perfectly fine. They didn’t suspect a thing, or at least that’s what she told herself, and she hoped she was right.
By the time she arrived at the barn, the lycans were already exiting it. Four of them climbed onto their mounts, but the leader hung back to speak with Brokk.
“I heard about your father,” the man said.
Brokk stiffened, and hostility radiated from him. Sahira’s eyebrows lifted as Lexi’s gaze shot between the two men before shifting to the other lycans. These behemoths would take her down with ease, but she wouldn’t let Brokk fight alone.
“King Tove was a good man,” the lycan continued, and Brokk’s hostility ebbed. The lycan pitched his voice low as he kept his gaze on his men. “And I’m sorry for your loss.”
Lexi’s shoulders relaxed as the lycan strode toward his mount. Grasping the reins, he swung himself onto his horse without touching the stirrups.
“It’s only going to get worse,” Sahira said when the riders were out of view. “The Lord has complete control over all the realms, and with the dragons on his side, there’s no way to stop him.”
“Fucking Orin,” Brokk hissed.
“How many times do you think they’ll come back?” Lexi asked.
“They won’t stop until the Lord is convinced he’s crushed the rebellion,” Sahira said.
“He’ll never be convinced of that,” Lexi replied.
“No, he won’t,” Brokk said. “And even if he does crush it, he won’t stop.”
Before either of them could reply, he stalked away. Lexi started to follow him, but Sahira grasped her arm.
“Let him go,” Sahira said.
Brokk stopped at the edge of the lake and stood gazing across the water. Lexi had no idea what to do for him or anyone else. She’d been lucky here today, but how long would that luck last?
Lexi paced the confines of her room until she felt ready to scream. At 3:00 a.m., she wandered over to the window to gaze at the moon.
The bright, full orb lit the night sky as its rays cascaded across the land. Beneath its silvery glow, the world didn’t look as devastated as it did in the daytime. It seemed almost peaceful. She yearned for looks not to be deceiving, but there was no changing the past.
Gazing at the moon reminded her of the time she’d stood in the moon room with Cole. The memory was so vivid she felt his breath on her nape as he introduced her to the four moons of the Gloaming.
She hadn’t known what to make of him then, but he’d awakened something inside her that night, and it refused to be caged again. Then the memory of him vanished, and she was once again alone in her room. And she was colder than she’d ever been in her life.
What would she do if he didn’t return?
Dropping her head into her hands, she rubbed her temples before turning away from the moon. She would survive without him; she had no other choice, but she would make a stand against the Lord.